So, there's this kid in my class. He's tiny. Almost all the girls are taller than him, even. If you looked at him, you'd swear he was a middle schooler instead of a high school second-year.

And that goes for his personality too. He talks like he's a character in an RPG or something. He's trying to seem completely bad-ass with his ripped-up uniform and weird accessories. Does he succeed?

Obviously not. He's the opposite of bad-ass. He couldn't beat a kitten in a wrestling match. He gets winded going up stairs. He's so skinny he needs to run around in the shower to get wet. He always seems about a minute away from breaking out in tears. He tries to talk in a deep voice, but it goes all squeaky when he gets excited.

It's kind of adorable, if you like that sort of thing.

Seems like an okay guy, but that's true for almost anyone at my school. With a couple exceptions, they're okay. Decent people. Hard to relate to them, though. Hard to relate to anyone who doesn't have a past like mine. And nobody else has a past like mine.

There may have been times where he saw me lose it a bit and revert back to the old ways, but I'm not certain. He still behaved normally, if that's the right word, around me.

Then, there's the time Saiki ran up to me, and I saw him. Surrounded by a bunch of punks that towered over him. It was obvious they were planning on beating the shit out of him.

Don't misunderstand, I would have rescued him anyway. After all, he seems a decent guy, and decent guys don't deserve to be beaten up by punks. And he's from my homeroom, and that's sort of like being in the same gang, right?

So even if he hadn't said it, I was gonna beat up those assholes. But when he said it: "Kuboyasu! Run! I can take care of these guys myself!"

Obviously he was lying. There's no way he could do that. But even just saying that in front of a bunch of punks was pretty cool. And to say that to protect me? Someone who was just another person in his class? This scrawny, weak kid who was practically peeing himself with fear was going to take the beating of his life for my sake?

That, my friend, is just about the definition of bad-ass.

Anyway, if you had to pick a point in time, I'd say that was the moment I fell in love with Shun.

Turns out, I do like that sort of thing.